T / home and away

As you may have noticed, Cait and I are on the move these days. In the past couple of years, I’ve found myself spending sometimes two weeks, sometimes three months, and in this case, one month in somewhat familiar, yet starkly different places. It’s generally away from loved ones, family, friends. I’m lucky in this case as the forces that are the global economy have somehow transplanted a section of the Phnom Penh community into Yangon. Oh right, and the Internet.

We’ve been hanging out with people who are equally movement oriented, if not more. And one thing I’ve noticed among the permanently peripatetic is the things that they bring with them. Like Katie, her yoga mat and her spices. Unfortunately, my fore thinking only goes as far as gadgets. Instead, I wind up looking for spaces, foods and things that I know will make me feel a little more grounded despite the impermanence. So I thought I’d share some of those things I have found so far in Yangon.

I think I’m happiest when I have my own little nook. I have an office in our home in Phnom Penh. But where the heck am I supposed to spend hours pinning, editing photos…and that pile of work I’m supposed to be here doing? Thankfully this little Airbnb comes with its own impressively simplistically designed workspace complete with printer and high speed internet (in a land where only 1% have access). I am more than lucky to be able to designate a little at-home workspace and find refuge from the persistent downpour that is Yangon right now.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I have a thing for dumplings. That goes even further for noodles. My heritage just lingers. So when Jen mentioned downtown Shan noodles, my ears lit up. Of course I would want to sample the noodly culture of an indigenous group with Chinese origins. And naturally, slurping up this saucy bowl of delicious would warm my heart on a rainy day.

Well duh. I quickly learned on this trip that there is nothing worse than a bad cup of coffee at seven o’ clock in the morning. I’ve clearly been spoiled from having this place around the corner from my home in Phnom Penh. So when my Airbnb host mentioned that he had a grinder and that I would be able to find coffee beans in the fridge, I knew I had picked the right one. Then the coffee yoda told me to where to buy beans. Sohook, line and sinker. I am on my way to feeling homely (as in the UK definition of the word).